


Exuberance and Steadiness

by TheMajesticTrilobite



Category: Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-05-30 15:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19406188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMajesticTrilobite/pseuds/TheMajesticTrilobite
Summary: Charlotte Jennings puts him in mind of a fussy little dog. A pug perhaps, with her penchant for bouncing across rooms, panting excitedly in little gasps of uncontainable happiness.





	1. Thomas

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen Sense and Sensibility so many times that I've lost count, and many of those times I wondered at the relationship between these two characters. They are both people of means, who could have chosen whom to marry, yet chose someone seemingly completely incompatible. This is my little headcanon to explain it.

Charlotte Jennings puts him in mind of a fussy little dog. A pug perhaps, with her penchant for bouncing across rooms, panting excitedly in little gasps of uncontainable happiness. 

She's not handsome. Granted, she has a full, proportioned figure and her face, though tending towards plain, is far from ugly, but really there are far finer ladies in his immediate circle and quite a few real beauties in his larger acquaintance. Most of them even come with a perfectly respectable dowry attached. Not that he needs the extra income, but one must allow for society's expectations. 

Many of her quirks baffle him, and her manner irritates him. Her propensity for giggling is inappropriate, she loves gossip to a degree far too great for someone with her upbringing. 

Still, in a room full of gorgeous, charming women, however polished and refined and elegant, her high pitched voice keeps his attention for more reasons than mere irritation. He's helpless to follow her progress on the dance floor, his gaze snagged by the liveliness of her steps, the bounce of her curls, the sheer joy of such a simple act as dancing embodied with a lightness that is mostly absent from her peers, so conscious of the eyes on them. 

And yet she is not improper, she keeps her head when it is most needed. Her memory for names and details is enough to put any scholar to shame, and she has a knack for using it to her advantage (though never to damage others). 

She is too much in such a small frame, positively vibrating with excitement, so that she seems in constant danger of bursting at the seams. Her exuberance irritates him as much as it endears her to him. 

Yes, a pug is quite the apt comparison: he's always had a soft spot for the little buggers. 


	2. Charlotte

Thomas Palmer reminds her of a marble bust, always so stiff and formal. Or perhaps a wooden puppet starring in some dull play, where the most excitement to be had comes in the form of sarcasm and humor so dry, hardtack would seem like toffee next to it. 

His face seems to be set in a perpetual scowl, animated by the occasional eye roll. Though he is much too conscious of propriety and his surroundings to ever let its target catch him. 

His conversation consists of the weather, the state of the roads, and politics if he’s feeling particularly chatty, and he never is. 

He seems to draw some perverse satisfaction from being outright impervious to gossip (be it giving or receiving), and will stand at the wall through dances, perfectly statuesque, not so much as twitching a foot even when entreated to dance by half the room. 

Oh, he's handsome with his tall figure and bright eyes and dark hair, but he's certainly not the only gentleman in her acquaintance who can boast such features, and they have the added benefit of wit and charm on their side. 

And she is by no means lacking in options. She's well connected, rich, and quite young enough to have her pick of the litter. Her mama is always telling her she could have any man in the room if she put her mind to it. 

But for all his stiffness, she catches glimpses of an underlying current. He's open with his friends, his voice strong, his manner animated when he discusses something with them. And he has a softness, she discovers, that comes out when the circumstance requires. A certain steady gentleness that manifests itself in polite offers of comfort, freely if not expertly given. 

Not a stone then, but a woolen blanket: stiff and scratchy, but warm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to have the second chapter up immediately after the first one (it's such a short thing), but better late than never I suppose.   
> This is mostly just me putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were) to organise my little headcanon and get some peace of mind. It's a pet theory I've grown quite fond of, and I hope whoever reads it can find some enjoyment in it as well.


End file.
